Tute Genomics raises $1.5 mln for cloud-based genome analytics

SALT LAKE CITY, USA: Tute Genomics announced that it has raised $1.5 million in Seed Round funding to further develop its advanced genome analysis software, allowing researchers to rapidly discover novel disease genes & identify predictive biomarkers.

Investors in this round include Wilmington Pharmatech, Salt Lake Life Sciences Angels, Peak Ventures, Park City Angel Network, and a number of individual angel investors.

Tute Genomics participated in the BoomStartup accelerator program in Utah this year, and subsequently raised the most funds of any company in BoomStartup's history. Additionally, Tute raised approximately $300K from AngelList, via their new Syndicate mechanism.

"The cost of sequencing the human genome has dropped significantly in recent years, making it possible for whole genomes and exomes to be used in both clinical and research settings," says Reid J. Robison, MD MBA, a physician turned data-scientist and CEO of Tute Genomics.

"However, data analysis remains as the major hurdle before widespread adoption and individualized medicine can become a reality," added Robison.

Tute's cloud-based genome interpretation platform is derived from the expertise underlying the ANNOVAR technology, one of the gold standards in genome annotation & interpretation.

ANNOVAR, written by Tute Genomics President Dr. Kai Wang, has been cited by over 500 scientific publications, and has been used in more gene discovery studies than any other platform. Building on this foundation, Tute now includes over 90 annotation types, scoring methods and genetic databases, and through an innovative cloud-computing pipeline, lets healthcare & research organizations interpret an entire human genome in less than 15 minutes, and a whole exome in less than 5 minutes.

Tute also applies robust statistical models, allowing researchers to conduct large-scale case-control and family-based studies using whole genomes and exomes. Tute Genomics software uses proprietary machine-learning algorithms to rapidly prioritize clinically relevant genetic variants, genes and pathways resulting in improved performance of disease gene & biomarker discovery efforts.

Tute has over 100 registered users across a number of research and clinical institutions, including academic medical centers, CLIA labs and pharma/biotech companies, and has analyzed over 500 genomes since its launch in October 2013. With this successful round of funding, Tute Genomics is opening a new door for personalized medicine by enabling researchers and clinicians to utilize human genome data for scientific discovery and individualized treatment.